A food blog of original, kitchen tested recipes with easy to follow instructions.

Eat!

Eating is a necessity. However, we choose what to eat. The choices we make reveal a great deal about us. The food you eat can tell quite a bit about your heritage, your family, your fears, your sense of adventure, your attitude toward yourself and others, and a myriad of other personal tidbits to anyone paying attention. Everything about eating is a glimpse into your soul.

I hope to reveal a little bit about myself to you through my food. I enjoy cooking. I enjoy eating. I find pleasure in bringing pleasure to others. I hope that by sharing my recipes I bring you a little bit of joy.

Cook my food. Feed it to the people you love.

Sunday, August 31, 2014

Jeff and I like
to eat out.We try to visit
local restaurants whenever we can.We used
to go to this little restaurant here in town that had a fantastic wrap around
porch.It was behind a local plant nursery so
it was surrounded by fruit trees.We
liked to go there when the weather was cool, sit on the porch, have a few
drinks, and talk. We always ordered Warm, Curry, Goat Cheese Spread.I’m
not sure that this is the exact recipe, but it is delicious none the less. That little restaurant closed, but we remember it whenever I make this.We also like to invite friends over and relax at home. We have served Warm, Curry, Goat Cheese Spread at an end of the week happy hour. We found that curry and goat cheese go best with a nice cold beer. I am not much of a beer drinker, so I opened a bottle Zinfandel (red not pink) which paired nicely with the dish. We set out slices of cucumbers, carrots, and an olive try, too. This took little effort as I had sliced the veggies and stirred the cheeses together the night before. Instant party.

Servings:Makes 2 cups

Time:prep: 5 minutes; Bake: 12-15 minutes

Hardware:Measuring cups and spoons, a 14 ounce baking
dish, a spoon

Ingredients:

10 ounces chèvre (soft goat cheese)

6 ounces cream cheese

1 tablespoon curry paste

Crackers or toasted pita bread

Preheat the oven to 375˚.

Mix the cheeses and curry paste together.Bake for about 5 minutes.

Remove from the oven and stir. Return to the oven and bake for 8 to 10 minutes more or until the top is set and begins to crack a little.

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

I make Cheesy Broccoli
Rice every time we have pork chops. Jeff
loves it because it is full of cheese and I like it because it is so easy to
make.And while it isn’t health food it
is healthier than most cheese and broccoli dishes because it isn’t made from
cream of anything soup.I use frozen
broccoli because most of the time frozen vegetables are more nutritious and
once again-easier.

This tastes great as a leftover, just add a little water or milk and microwave.Cheesy Broccoli Rice is also hearty enough to
make a great vegetarian meal.I always prepare extra to take to work the next day as lunch.

Servings: 4-6

Hardware:A measuring spoons and cups, a pot with a lid,
a wooden spoon, and a mixing bowl

Time:prep:5
minutes, cook: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

2 cups water

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup of rice

1-13 ounce package steam in bag frozen broccoli

1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese

¼ cup sour cream

S&P

Cheesy Broccoli Rice

Heat the water and salt until boiling.Add the rice, cover with the lid and turn it down to low.Simmer, without opening the lid, for 20 minutes or until most of the liquid has been absorbed.

While the rice is cooking prepare the broccoli according to package directions.

When the rice is ready stir the rice and the remaining ingredients together in the mixing bowl.Adjust the S&P.

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Stuffed shells are not low fat.They are not health food.Stuffed shells are classic comfort food.Gooey and warm and delicious. I make the
recipe even better by adding shrimp and making the Alfredo sauce myself.

If the recipe makes too much filling you can freeze it.If any shells are left over they, too, can be
frozen.The best way to do that is to
freeze the shells flat on a plate or cookie sheet.When they are frozen you can place the shells
and the sauce in a food saver system.If
you don’t freeze them flat first, the food saver system will squash them.If you don’t place them in a food saver system,
they will quickly freezer burn.

Spray the baking dish with cooking spray.Roll out about a foot of parchment paper.

Crush the garlic and mince the basil.Clean the shrimp and sprinkle them with salt.Set aside.

Over medium heat melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Add 3 cloves of garlic and the shrimp.Cook until just pink, 2-3 minutes.Remove them from the heat and roughly chop them up.

Beat the eggs in the mixing bowl.Add the ricotta cheese, basil, pepper, salt, shrimp, and the butter the shrimp was cooked in.Mix everything together. Place everything into the Ziploc bag and place it in the fridge until needed.

Cook the pasta according to package directions until al dente (firm).Drain and place open side down on the parchment paper.

Heat the remaining butter in the saucepan over medium heat. Add the rest of the garlic and cook for about 1 minute (don’t brown.) Whisk in the flour and stir until the mixture is smooth. Gradually add the cream and milk, whisking continuously.Cook until the cream mixture begins to bubble. Remove from the heat and stir in 1 cup of the Parmesan cheese. Adjust the salt and pepper.

Snip off the edge of the Ziploc bag, making sure the hole is large enough to allow the shrimp to pass through.Gently squeeze the cheese mixture into each shell and place the shells into the prepared dish. Pour the sauce over the shells
and sprinkle the remaining Parmesan over the top. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until
the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is golden brown.

Saturday, August 9, 2014

I made this dipping
sauce to use with Coconut Shrimp but it would really be good any time you might
use tartar sauce. It is sweet, salty, spicy, and delicious.

Servings:Makes 1 ½ cups

Time:prep: 5-10 minutes; Rest: 2 hours-overnight

Hardware:Measuring cups and spoons, a cutting
board and knives, a can opener, a zester, a whisk or fork, a mixing bowl, a
rubber spatula, an airtight container

Ingredients:

1 cup sour cream

8 ounces crushed pineapple

The zest and juice from 1 lime

1 green onion

2 tablespoons diced pickled jalapeños

2 teaspoons diced cilantro

¼ teaspoon salt

Juice and zest the lime. Slice the green onion as thinly as possible.Dice the jalapeños and cilantro, the smaller the better. Set aside.

Remove all the liquid from the pineapple.

Whisk the ingredients together until everything is thoroughly combined.Place the sauce into the airtight container and put it in the fridge.Allow the sauce to rest for at least 2 hours, but preferably overnight.

You can divide the
world into those that like coconut and those that do not. I think that for some
people it is really more the consistency than the taste that they find
unpleasant.For others it is the cloying
sweetness that turns them off.By frying
the shrimp and using unsweetened coconut, plus adding in a little heat, these
obstacles are removed.If people still
don’t like it, more for us.

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About Me

I am a teacher living in Florida. I love teaching and I also love to cook. This blog combines those two loves. My recipes are very detailed because I am not making any assumptions about my readers' cooking experience. I want my blog to encourage even new cooks to be brave in the kitchen.